Quoth the Raven
by xNevermorex
Summary: Raven is some thief. But with a tip-off from an enemy, Pharoah Yami captures her, and her only true friend is killed. Her life becomes a living hell, until she gets an offer that can possibly turn it around, along with some unexpected new friends. Summari
1. A Life Of Crime

BlueEyez: Okay, I just got hit hard with rabid inspiration to write an action/adventure type story. It's going to be about my Yami Raven's life. I have too many fics going, so I'm going to discontinue all but the Interview one, the Guide to DC, and this one. So, yeah, I will not be in this one, it'll mainly be Raven. Basically, she is a thief with quite an impressive record. But one of her enemies tricks her, so she's caught by the Pharoah. When her one true friend is killed, is all really lost, or will Raven be able to build a new life off the job she is offered?   
  
Raven: ...this sounds painful... *cringes*  
  
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The hooded silhouette darted through the shadows, holding a sack under one arm. Behind her, about four or five guards were in hot pursuit. She leapt down an ally, swiftly ascended a ladder, and stopped for a moment, looking down at the desert road below.   
  
the guards were beginning to climb the ladder as well. For a moment, the thief was worried.  
  
"We've got you now!" One of the guards boasted haughtily. The shadowy figure smiled to herself as she heard hoofbeats.   
  
Tossing a crow-shaped throwing star with razor-sharp wings and beak behind her, she leapt off the building and onto the back of a galloping horse.   
  
'so long', she thought, casting a triumphant glance back at the stunned guards.   
  
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The thief and her companion stepped through the doorway to a small hut. Sitting down in the dim candlelight, she stared at her friend.  
  
"Thanks, Star. We did really well back there. More priceless gems. And I didn't even have to hurt anyone." She said, her voice cold and bitter.  
  
The companion smiled. She had fiery red hair, and bright purple eyes sparkling. She appeared out of place, not evil or wrong. Her voice was not poisoned by hatred. "Raven, I'm glad. But take off your cloak, it is quite hot tonight."   
  
The thief took off her hood, and revealed a girl who seemed about sixteen. She had long black hair, and light blue, absolutely frigidly icy eyes that seemed oblivious to any sadness or pain. "We are going into the marketplace. A caravan of much food and gold will be arriving, as well as some papyrus so you can write your letters. We should be able to ransack some of those camels and riders on our horses. They are swifter, and we are smarter."   
  
Star nodded, but her face fell.   
  
"What's wrong?" Raven asked, her eyes perhaps softening somewhat as she leaned forward.   
  
"I don't know...it's just...ever since our families were killed, we've been stealing like this...I mean, I know you tell me it's just to survive, but sometimes it seems you take more than just what we need to survive." Star's eyes looked apologetic.   
  
"Maybe I like it too much. Maybe I just enjoy the thrill. Or maybe it's because I hate the pharoah for ordering our village to be attacked and I want to cause as much chaos as I possibly can!" Raven said ferociously.   
  
Star seemed taken aback. "But that is not the village's fault!"   
  
"I know...but maybe I'm just not as sweet as you, okay?" Raven hissed, and she got up and walked away.   
  
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"Star. We need to isolate one of them. When we pick one, ride in on them, chase then away a bit. Then I'll intercept them and attack." Raven whispered from their perch on the hill, watching the men on camels enter the city.   
  
"Okay. I think I can do that. Hey, what about that one over there?" Star pointed to a camel who's bags were stuffed with something shiny.   
  
"I bet you those are for the pharoah. And I'm going to take them." Raven said. "Good eye, Star. Hey, wait!" She stared down into the city. A white-haired figure was waiting right inside the gates.   
  
"It can't be Bakura!" Raven hissed. "Not that idiot! We don't need to deal with him when we've got moron Pharoah and his guards all around today!"   
  
"Maybe he's going for a different camel..." Star suggested quietly.  
  
"Not happening." muttered Raven through clenched teeth. "Let's just go." She kicked her horse on, and they descended upon the camel. Raven turned sharply, hiding in the shadows to wait with her midnight black horse.   
  
"You can't find your own robbery, can you, girl?" A harsh, cold voice hissed alongside her. Bakura glared at her, dagger glistening dangerous in his hand.   
  
"Sorry, nope. But at least I take time to train my horses." She smirked at Bakura's confused stare, and gave her horse a light nudge. He spun around and kicked out, catching Bakura square in the stomach and sending him flying backward. "I've got a camel to catch." Raven said to the injured robber, as she galloped out to intersect the camel rider.  
  
She slowed her horse to a trot alongside the camel, glaring menacingly at the rider. "Give us everything now, I've got a knife that I'm unafraid to use." Star was digging through the saddlebags on the camel, stuffing some gems in her bag.   
  
The rider looked fearful. "But...they're for the pharoah!" He stuttered.   
  
Raven blinked slowly. "Do you think I care about that moronic, undeserving pharoah? We have what we need. You are fortunate." She waited till Star remounted, then took off at a gallop.   
  
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Pharoah Yami slammed his fist down on the golden throne arm, his purple eyes narrowed as he glared at his guard. "You mean to tell me these thieves robbed the camel I wanted specifically without you even NOTICING? Those gems were my father's before me, and my grandfather's before him, from across the Nile in their holding chamber, and now they belong to two lowly thieves!"   
  
"But...we didn't hear them coming! We were on the lookout for Bakura!" The guard stammered.  
  
"Bakura hasn't stolen anything in weeks, it's all been these thieves!" Yami roared. Just then, a hooded figure stepped into the throneroom.   
  
"Yes?" Yami asked impatiently.   
  
The person responded, his voice dark and malicious. "I know of these two thieves of whom you speak."  
  
"Do go on." Yami urged, signalling for the guards, who had begun to move forward, to stay back.  
  
"They are young, around 16 years of age, and they specialize in stealth maneuvers. I do not know the name of the sidekick who always provides the getaway, but I know that the thief who actually does all the stealing is named Raven."   
  
"A female?" Yami inquired.  
  
"yes." The stranger responded.  
  
"Well, that's nice to know, but I want to catch them, and you don't seem to know what they look like."  
  
"They always wear cloaks anyway, Pharoah, but I do know that they will be attempting to rob from the palace tomorrow night."  
  
"How do you know this?"  
  
"Because I tipped them off that most of your guards would be going with one of your head soldiers to a neighboring kingdom. They think security will be low. strike them then."   
  
"Thank you kindly, stranger. What is your name, I must ask?" Yami asked.  
  
"My name is unimportant." The stranger turned to leave, and surprisingly yami did not pursue his name. He simply smirked to himself.  
  
"They will pay for all the pain and suffering they've caused my village. I will do everything in my power to make them pay, especially their leader." He muttered grimly.   
  
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The stranger cackled to himself. "They're doomed, both of them. For once, the Pharoah is doing something for me!' The stranger was Bakura, and as far as he was concerned, he was going to be the only robber in Egypt soon.   
  
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Raven: blueEyez, I hate this story.  
  
BlueEyez: I know, Ravy, but I'm hoping the readers'll like it.   
  
Seto: You are pretty much torturing her with this story.  
  
BlueEyez: It gets better for her, once she gets the new job that'll change her life. I know right now it's a pretty common story, but it'll separate itself from the others really quickly.   
  
Yami: Die Raven.   
  
Raven: No. So, read and Review, please. 


	2. A Fallen Star

BlueEyez: Okay...um...Raven hates this chapter, so she's sitting in the corner, blasting her music and singing loudly so she doesn't have to think about it. I can't say I blame her.  
  
Raven: *sings loudly* WAKE ME UP INSIIIIDE  
  
Yami: I know why we didn't get many reviews.  
  
BlueEyez: Why?  
  
Yami: Because they all think they know what's going to happen. They think I'm gonna wind up falling head over heels for Raven and she's gonna do the same for me. They'll be shocked, I think. *mumbles* Good for nothing Raven.   
  
Raven: BRRRIIING MEEEEE TOOOO LIFEEEE!  
  
BlueEyez: Okay. I don't own YGO, just myself, Raven, and Star. I also own nothing you recognize, such as Bring Me To Life, the song that Raven is singing right now.  
  
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"Come on, Star. This is great. we'll be able to show the pharoah once and for all!" Raven laughed coldly, adrenaline rushing through her as she stood behind a tree outside the palace.   
  
"I don't know...I mean...we really shouldn't trust that dude in the cloak who tipped us off...if he were really a fellow thief, wouldn't he want to keep the loot for himself?" Star's eyes were soft with worry.  
  
Raven disregarded her. "Well, I don't see many guards. And even if they are there, we can take 'em."   
  
"I don't know...it just seems like all this is just because of a grudge against the pharoah...what if one of us gets hurt because of it?" Raven's eyes almost softened for a moment as she saw the desperation in her friend's face.  
  
"None of us are going to get hurt, Star...I promise." Raven reassured her. Star had never been one for stealing, except nonviolent thefts from the local food shopkeepers, unlike Raven, who used grand theft as a way to get at the Pharoah.   
  
Star smiled faintly, but did not seem content. Raven tried to ignore the feeling of guilt inside her as they crept along. "Follow me." She said darkly, shooting her hookshot into the fronds of a palm tree and pulling herself up. Star followed.  
  
Raven leapt into the shadeless window, and cast a glance behind her. Star was there, looking more worried than ever.   
  
Something shiny caught her attention. It was a large chest, overflowing with precious gems! Raven stopped, gazing at it in surprise for a moment. "Too easy." She whispered, smirking as she walked closer to the chest. Star hung back nervously.   
  
Suddenly, Raven heard about half a scream that was stifled quickly. Spinning around, she saw about three guards restraining Star. Drawing her knife, she advanced upon the three guards sinisterly.   
  
She was then aware of movement all around her. She was completely surrounded by armed guards. "A trap." She thought. "That creep tipper set us up!" Raven looked around frantically for someone to single out to attack. She decided again on one of the guards restraining Star.   
  
A voice behind her caused her to stop. "Your crime spree is OVER,Raven." Pharoah Yami roared in his typical 'I'm-going-to-defeat-you" voice.   
  
Raven glared at him with a stare that, if looks could kill, would've burned him right then and there. "Or so you think. I've been in worse situations, and I can't say I'm unhappy that I get the chance to finally avenge my family and destroy you."   
  
"Oh? Well, you seem to be unarmed, save that pathetic knife." Yami pointed out. "And I could always have all forty of my guards attack you."  
  
Raven's anger and hatred built up inside her suddenly and she lunged for the Pharoah, cutting his shoulder cleanly with her knife. She stepped back, breathing heavily, and glared at him.   
  
Yami clutched his shoulder for a moment, and the guards all stepped forward toward the undaunted Raven, but the young Pharoah signalled for them to stay back. Raven watched coldly, surprised he still thought he had a prayer against she who'd trained herself into a perfected warrior.   
  
But Yami wasn't bad himself. He jumped forward, brandishing his long sword, and swiped at Raven with it. It caught her across her lower arms and waist, but instead of flinching, she dove at Yami again. This time, he was able to evade.   
  
He was somewhat puzzled at why she did not bear any emotion in her eyes, they were just an icy, defiant sapphire.   
  
She was about to make another move when he jumped for her, and she wound up flying back, the guards scattering as she crashed into a wall. She tried to prepare herself to dodge any attacks, but the Pharoah was now paying no more attention to her. He was instead focused on Star.   
  
"you, too, are guilty of many murders, just like your foolish friend. Unless you wish to lay the blame on Raven, in which case she will simply be executed, not like she probably won't anyway. If you do not, then you will be taken to execution, because you were the sidekick and thus go first." He said coldly.   
  
Raven met her gaze for a moment, trying to telepathically tell her to blame it all on her, that it was bad enough for Raven right now, that Star would be spared.   
  
Star didn't seem to catch on. "Um...it was me...I did all the dirty work, Raven was just the brains behind the operation." She said slowly.   
  
"Very well." Yami said grimly. "Take her away." He ordered the guards, who did so. He then turned back to Raven, but said nothing.  
  
Raven stared fiercely at the floor for the moment in which you could just start to see pain in her eyes, but it was soon gone and she glared with nothing but the purest hatred up at Yami. She still felt dizzy from her injuries and her fall, and thus could not stand, but she refused to consent to him. All she could think about was how she had promised Star that nothing would happen to them. Star never even wanted to do that. Raven was a liar, and she had pretty much murdered her best friend. she didn't seem to realize everything getting darker, but she did see a white-haired figure in the window, smirking at her. "Bakura." She whispered. He had been the one to tip him off.   
  
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She woke up in a dark dungeon, and was shocked and almost disappointed for a moment by the fact that she was still alive. She immediately knew she was in the Pharoah's prison, and once again even more loathing for him flooded her. He was the reason she was like this. Crawling across the hard floor, she curled herself in a corner and shut her eyes, trying to become one with the shadows and forget about the searing pain across her arms and abdomen.   
  
She heard footsteps, and glanced up halfheartedly, hoping with all of her being that it wasn't the Pharoah. It wasn't. It was a taller figure with a tall hat, and sweeping robes that seemed to blow about even though there was no wind in the dungeon. Quite fancy attire, for a dungeon, Raven though to herself.   
  
The person came toward her, paused for a moment, and chuckled darkly. "I can see that the Pharoah has been playing with fire again. You must be Raven, that infamous thief."  
  
"Yes." Raven said without looking up. She couldn't bring herself to be that rude to him, he was not the reason she was here.   
  
"He can be an idiot sometimes. That ego of his always getting in the way." the boy looked somewhere between seventeen and nineteen, whoever he was, Raven could see in the light of the candle he held. He had dark brown hair and icy blue eyes not unlike Raven's.   
  
"Yeah." Raven wondered faintly who'd be brave enough, aside from her, to insult the Pharoah in his own castle. "So you've heard about us." she mumbled.  
  
"I've heard the storie." Came his distant reply. Raven was grateful that he didn't question why she had said 'us', although he probably already knew what happened to Star.   
  
"Who are you, anyway, and, just out of curiosity, what is your grudge against the pharoah?" Raven inquired.   
  
"Well, the pharoah defeated me in my favorite game, the one at which I was previously undefeated. Then he started saying it was evil, and had shadow powers and all that...well, I'm a priest, and my name is Seth."   
  
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Yami: BAKA! You made me look like an evil jerk!  
  
BlueEyez: You were mad. Raven had done a lot of bad things. You didn't know that star was only stealing out of loyalty to her friend.   
  
Raven: CALL MY NAME AND SAAAAAAAAAAVE ME FROM THE DARK!!!  
  
Seto: Phht. This story sucks, I'm not in it. And WHY is that freakish Seth dude talking to Raven?  
  
Yami: *rolls eyes* I thought you needed a brain to run a company...   
  
Raven: SAVE ME FROM THE NOTHING I'VE BEEECOOOME!   
  
BlueEyez: anyway..please review. 


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